On Friday April 11th the Transition Year Students of St. Nathy’s College fundraised in the town of Ballaghaderreen for Special Olympics Ireland. We are delighted to say that we raised €1,300. We would also like to thank everyone who generously donated.
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Monday meant Port Aventura! We left Hotel Calypso at 10:30 and arrived in Port Aventura at 11:00. Everyone was excited and couldn’t wait to go on the exhilarating rides Port Aventura had to offer. The first ride that caught our eye was the ‘Furious Baco’, which travelled at a shocking speed of 136 kph.
Other rides in the theme park included ‘Shambala’ which is the tallest roller coaster in Europe which travels up to a breath taking height of 249.3 feet in the air, the ‘Hurakan Condor’ which was a free falling drop that went so fast you felt you had left half of your body at the top of the drop which is 376 feet tall when you reached the ground. Over all the experience was amazing and every individual enjoyed it. We would like to thank Mr. Lennon, Mr. Curran and Ms. Staunton for accompanying us on this wonderful trip. Read More
On the second day of our TY trip to Spain, we went to visit Montserrat. It is well known as the site of the Benedictine abbey, Santa Maria de Montserrat, which hosts the Virgin of Montserrat sanctuary. The monastery is 48 kilometers west of Barcelona, and can be reached by road, train or cable car. We left our hotel in Salou at 10 on that Sunday morning and our bus took us to Santa Maria de Montserrat, we arrived just after 11. From there we were taken to the peak of the mountain where we witnessed breath-taking views. We stayed up there for a while and took plenty of photos with the TY class and other random tourists.
When we got down to the bottom, we went to visit the Basilica. The Basilica houses a museum with works of art by many prominent painters and sculptors including works by El Greco, Dalí, Picasso and more. The Escolania, Montserrat’s Boys’ Choir, is one of the oldest in Europe, and performs during religious ceremonies and communal prayers in the basilica. But unfortunately, we missed their performance that day. Outside the Basilica, there was a group of gymnasts making a human tower. We arrived back in Salou at around 4 that evening and we went straight to the beach for a few hours. We rented a paddle boat and spent a good hour going down the slide and jumping off the top. The evening was spent in the hotel pool and bonding as a TY group. We then enjoyed a lovely dinner.
We thoroughly enjoyed our day.
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We, the transition year class of 2013/14 set off on our long waited adventurous holiday to Barcelona on Saturday the 10th of May. We hopped on the 2am bus Eireann bus on route to Dublin airport. We arrived at Terminal 1 at approximately 4:30am. We then had a quick chance to get a bite to eat before we walked the never ending corridor to our boarding gate. We boarded our flight FR6875 at ten past six.
Finally it was time to fly, which for some of us it was our first time on an airplane. We touched down in Barcelona airport and made our way to our bus which brought us on a tour around Barcelona city accompanied by a lovely tour guide. We visited many places on the tour, such as the Olympic Stadium and Gaudi’s Cathedral.
We then got time to do some quick shopping in Barcelona before we hopped back on the bus again. We then made our way to Nou Camp Stadium. We got a full tour of the stadium grounds, got pictures taken, and a quick look in the shop. We were all exhausted after our long day travelling so we all got a quick snooze before arriving at our hotel which was called Hotel Calypso in Salou. We then changed into our swimming gear as quick as lightening and sprinted down to the pool. We had great craic in the pool, all of us together.
Day one was now over in Barcelona and we were looking forward to seeing what day two was going to bring.
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The Leaving Cert. Graduation Mass was held in the College Chapel on Tuesday 6th May at 8p.m. Bishop Brendan Kelly, Patron and Trustee of St Nathy's College was the main celebrant and homilist. He was accompanied on the altar by the President, Fr Surlis and the Chaplain, Fr Kivlehan.
The Leaving Cert. Class of 2014 was joined by parents and family, as well as by members of the teaching staff at the Mass. The R.E. Dept. co-ordinated the readings, prayer of the faithful, offertory gifts and symbols which were delivered by Leaving Cert. students. The choir, under the direction of Ms Kielty and Ms Sheridan, comprised members of the Leaving Cert. class and Fourth Year students.
The Mass was a wonderful celebration of the journey undertaken by this year's Leaving Certs. during their time in St Nathy's College and as we thank God for their gifts, we wish each one of them every blessing in the future.
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On the 6th of April, the Our School’s Got Talent Semi- Final was held in Portlaois. Down from 635 acts, of all different types, The Apollos were one of the 30 acts performing on the night. There was a real variety of acts and genres of music in the performances. From opera to rock and solo artists to musical theatre, there was always something new and different to expect. The first act began at around 7:00pm and doors opened at 6:00pm. There was a long line waiting for the doors to open. After the first 17 
acts, there was a short intermission in which supporters were voting for all their favourites. Through all this, The Apollos waited nervously for the 25th act to be called, which was The Apollos.
There were many impressive and talented acts from all around the country, in the second half of the show. The Apollos sang ‘Say Something’ by A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera and did an amazing job! Five acts followed that and then there was a little break for more voting and the judges to decide who would go through to the final. As all 30 of the acts filed onto the stage, the atmosphere was tense as they all nervously waited for their name’s to be called. The first announced was Molly Sterling from St. Andrew’s College in Booterstown who had performed her own original song entitled ‘Whiskey’. The next act called out was Emily Walsh from Community School Heywood, Laois who performed ‘Think of Me’ from the classic opera ‘Phantom of the Opera’. Up next was ‘Musicala’ from Crana College in Buncrana, a musical theatre group who had acted and sang ‘Hard- Knock Life’ from the musical ‘Annie’. Fourth to be announced was ‘Panic @ the Park’ a three- piece band from Scoil Mhuire, Athenry, who was seen letting out a tremendous sigh of relief when it was announced that they would be going to Limerick. Now it had become worrying.
There was only one act to go forward.
Would it be our beloved The Apollos? Then as The Apollos from St. Nathy’s College were announced, all their supporters began to jump and scream. They all ran over in a hurry to hug all the members, by jumping on stage. It was all very overwhelming for both The Apollos and their supporters!
We wish the best of luck to The Apollos in the final stage of the competition, which is to be held in the UL Concert Hall on Saturday, April 26th.
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Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the 2014 sequel to Captain America: The First Avenger and the ninth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, directed by Joseph and Anthony Russo.
In 2008, director Christopher Nolan did his part to change the world of comic book movies. Rather than use the source material to create another action blockbuster with a recognizable superhero lead, the filmmaker instead made The Dark Knight as a dark crime thriller that happened to feature Batman as the lead detective. To say it “legitimized” the genre is reductive to some of the fantastic movies that were released before it, but its unique approach garnered deserved attention from those who might not otherwise be interested in cape-and-cowl wearing vigilantes.
Of course, in that same time span, Marvel Studios has left an equally impactful mark. Not only have they delivered differently toned superhero stories – favoring the bright and fun over the dark and dramatic – but they've also developed the innovative and risky Marvel Cinematic Universe that webs together all of the studio’s characters into one shared world. In many ways, Joe and Anthony Russo’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier is perhaps the greatest film to come out in the wake of those developments. One part tense 1970s-esque political thriller with very contemporary themes of government surveillance and pre-emptive strikes, and one part giant adventure with colorful heroes and spectacular action, the film is everything anyone could want from a comic book movie and will stand as one of the best of all time.
The new sequel is a character driven story that is as much about Captain America (Chris Evans) fighting a wide-spread and powerful enemy as it is about him finding a place in the modern world, adjusting his life completely after having grown up in the 1930s, fought in World War II and been frozen in ice for 60+ years. A soldier through-and-through, he teams up with the intelligence agency S.H.I.E.L.D. as a field agent working dangerous missions around the world, but questions some of the work he is doing when it doesn’t fully live up to his moral code. Things only get worse when a shocking and devastating incident leaves Cap unable to trust anyone or anything – and leads him on a path to discover the truth about who he is really working for and who is really in charge.
It’s a mark of a great script and a great edit if you can look back at an entire film and not find a single extraneous scene, and that’s just one of Captain America: The Winter Soldier’s many hallmarks. The script by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely is taut and well-structured, the layers of the film’s mystery unfolding gradually and leading to an ambitious third act filled with important consequences. Every scene that doesn’t directly relate to the plot adds numerous layers to the characters and their relationships, from Cap and Falcon meeting during a jog around the National Mall to the patriotic superhero learning about his own heroic, historic past during a trip to the Captain America exhibit in the Smithsonian.
Both assisting and opposing Cap in his mission for truth is a terrific cast of excellent supporting characters that are smartly used, both in their adaptation from the page to the screen and in the way they help deepen and expand the movie’s plot. Like she was in Joss Whedon's The Avengers, Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow is back by Captain America’s side in The Winter Soldier and plays a perfect foil for the titular hero, his black and white view of morality not quite gelling with her shades of grey worldview. Similar things can also be said for Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury, who after three appearances finally gets to play an action-heavy, expanded role in a Marvel Studios film. New to the team is Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson a.k.a. Falcon, a retired soldier who used to be part of a specialized airborne unit, but he is so charismatic and meshes so well with Cap that you’d swear he’d been around all along.
Not too much can (or should) be said about the villains of the movie at this time, as part of the joy in a conspiracy thriller is not knowing which characters you can really trust, but it is safe in that respect to talk about The Winter Soldier, played by Sebastian Stan. As a brainwashed assassin, the character isn’t overly complex on the surface – personality tends to be one of the things washed away in the brainwashing process – but he has tremendous plot presence, both actively and thematically. The Soldier makes a formidable physical foe for Captain America, possessing incredible strength, amazing agility, and a crushing metal arm, but more powerful is his existence as a literal ghost from the hero’s past who has come back to haunt him in the most horrific way imaginable.
Bringing all of these characters to life are actors who just seem to get better and better within their roles with each outing. Evans proves once again to be an immensely charming lead that is able to make his character’s Boy Scout earnestness seem all the more heroic in a deeply cynical world, while both Johansson and Jackson both add depth and layers to clandestine heroes who never wear the truth on their sleeves. As another newcomer to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Robert Redford has a tremendously commanding presence and some fantastic moments with Jackson, but it’s Mackie who winds up taking Rookie of the Year just for his excellent on-screen chemistry with Evans that clicks from the very first scene of the movie. While one of the standout flaws of Marvel Studios’ early run of films was a lack of any really outstanding action sequences, their titles since The Avengers have eliminated that fault – with Captain America: The Winter Soldier being the company’s most thrilling, action-packed work yet. The Russo brothers – whose background is primarily in television comedies like Community and Arrested Development - had no blockbuster movie experience prior to making the sequel, but absolutely crush it with thrilling car chases, stylish fight sequences, and a collection of epic set pieces. Even characters that we have become familiar with in other multiple stories move in new and interesting ways, and the Russos’ camera captures every punch, kick, jump, lunge and block with top-notch visceral energy. The action is so spectacular that one has to wonder just how Whedon plans to raise the bar with 201`5’s The Avengers: Age of Ultron.
For whatever reason, Captain America seems to be tied with Iron Man as the character that the folks at Marvel Studios are really best at translating to the big screen. Joe Johnston’s Captain America: The First Avenger was an immensely fun period adventure with wonderful themes about duty and honor, and The Winter Soldier only furthers and expands on those ideas while replacing The Dirty Dozen approach with something closer to Three Days of the Condor. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a spectacularly-made, tense, thrilling ride, and whether you go to the theater for the blockbuster action or the exciting story, you will leave more than satisfied.
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On Friday, April 11th, the Transition Year class of Saint Nathy’s College hosted a fundraiser for Special Olympics Ireland. It is the third time St. Nathy’s took part in this event. We would like to thank everyone who helped donate on the day at our stations at SuperValu, Towey’s Filling Station, the Bank of Ireland and Malloy’s.
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As the game got off to a late start, referee Michael Duffy (Sligo) threw up the ball. It was quickly won by Manorhamilton and carried up the field to open the first score of the game. It wasn’t long before Ballaghaderreen showed their place worthy of being in the final after full -forward, Megan McCormack put three goals in the back of the net. St. Clare’s of Manorhamilton showed they weren’t just ready for giving up yet and scored two points, one after another. St. Nathy’s girls were soon back on top, however, after Shannon Dowd won the ball in her own half, carrying it down the field with an effortless kick over the bar. Captain Shannon Doherty showed an exhibition of real football throughout the game. As the half- time whistle blew the Nathy’s girls were comfortably ahead by 4-5 to 4 points.
As the second half began, Nathy’s showed speed and tremendous football skills as Orla O’Dowd won the breaking ball then a crisp kick over the bar. Manorhamilton girls showed their stronger side scoring a thrilling goal. After Meave Cox scored another goal for Nathy’s, it sealed the deal. Every player on the field put in a cracking performance for their teams. Despite their worthy efforts, Manorhamilton couldn’t get past the Green and Whites of Ballaghaderreen. The final score was St. Nathy’s 7-8 vs. St. Clare’s 1-9. The girls will now go forward to play in the Connaught Final against St. Attracta’s, Tubercurry.
We wish them the best of luck and hope they bring the title home! Read More[lightbox_image size="full-banner" image_path="https://www.stnathys.com/wp-content/uploads/jss.jpg" lightbox_content="https://www.stnathys.com/wp-content/uploads/js.jpg" group="" description="Juvenile Success"]
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On the 4th of April the St. Nathy’s Juvenille team took on St. Attracta’s , Tubbercurry in the Connaught League Final. St. Attracta’s got off to a great start scoring the first 3 points of the game. But Nathy’s came back with 4 points. Brian Molloy received a black card after 20 minutes for pulling his marker to the ground while he was breaking through on goal. Darragh Farrell came on to replace him and had a great game. At half time the score was St. Nathy’s 0-6 to St. Attracta’s 0-8. The second half started off much the same as the first with St. Attracta’s scoring 1-2 in the first five minutes.
At this stage Nathy’s were down by seven but were not ready to give up just yet. Nathy’s then scored an amazing 1-5 without reply and were leading by a point when Cian Tansey was forced off with an injury after putting in an amazing performance. The young Eoin Walsh came on for him and made an immediate impression by scoring a point. James O’Hara was then pulled down and Nathy’s were awarded a penalty. Dean Darcy stood up and calmly placed the ball in the bottom left corner. James O’Hara scored the final point of the game scoring an amazing 1-8 in total. The final score was Nathy’s 2-12 to St. Attracta’s 1-11.
Congratulations to the St. Nathy’s Juvenille team and their trainers Mr. Dolan and Mr. Curran. Read More
